Hookah Bowl

ABSTRACT

The present invention includes a hookah bowl having a reservoir that catches massell constituents before they accumulate in a hookah stem or base. The reservoir is positioned below bowl apertures and around a bowl spire that leads to a stem.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field tobacco smoking devices and more specifically to the field of hookahs.

BACKGROUND

Of the many proud traditions of Ottoman culture, few have achieved the world-wide fame of hookah smoking. Once confined to the Middle East and Near East regions, the hookah' s notoriety was invigorated by Napoleon's invasion of Egypt and the stream of curious Westerners which followed thereafter. Painters, such as Eugene Delacroix and Jean-Leon Gerome, when depicting Oriental styles typically included a hookah as a symbol of the depicted culture. The hookah was elevated from a regional curiosity to a universal symbol of sophistication.

The hookah, which has maintained a constant popularity in the Middle East, presently enjoys in American culture a unique, niched function. Hookah smoking combines community and relaxation into a single event. Rarely does one witness a group smokers crowded about a single cigarette, cigar, or pipe. Though hookahs are often designed with a single smoke outlet; the presence of multiple hoses, each capable of simultaneous use, emanating from a single smoking instrument is unique to the hookah. Multiple hose hookahs form the centerpieces of hookah clubs in which hookah smokers gather to unwind and converse with other community members. A hookah combines fashion, art, and function into a single device.

A basic hookah includes a base, a pipe, at least one hose with a mouthpiece, and a bowl. The hookah bowl holds the hookah tobacco, frequently “massell.” Massell is a mixture of tobacco, molasses, and often a flavor or fruit extract. The molasses and fruit extract add a substantial amount of moisture to the massell that is missing in conventional tobacco. This added moisture makes massell more sensitive to the elements relative to conventional tobacco; prolonged exposure to air evaporates much of the moisture of massell and reduces its flavor. When properly protected, massell allows a smoker a more recreational, flavored smoke than the tobacco of cigars, cigarettes, pipes, and the like. An experienced hookah smoker will know to loosely distribute massell into a pile within the hookah bowl to allow heat to evenly circulate through the pile.

The heat that ignites the massell derives from coals positioned above the hookah bowl. The coals and massell preferably never contact one to the other. A common method of placing coals proximate to the massell involves spreading a foil upon the top of a hookah bowl, punching holes in the foil, and then placing the coals onto the foil. The heat from the lighted coals travels through the holes in the foil to ignite portions of the massell. Particulates from the massell travel in the smoke created by the ignition down through the hookah bowl into the hookah pipe.

The hookah pipe is the body of a hookah and is usually fabricated from brass, tin, or stainless steel. The pipe transports the massell smoke from the bowl to the hookah base, which is a cavern containing water. The base of the hookah is typically fabricated of glass or plastic and tends to be the most expressive portion of the hookah, ranging from translucent to wildly-colored. Within the cavern of the hookah base, the massell smoke is cooled by the water within. The cooled massell smoke then returns to the back to the pipe, though not through the same entrance by which the massell smoke enters the base. From the pipe, the massell smoke travels through the hose and out of the mouthpiece.

There are presently two prominent versions of hookah structures: the Lebanese style and the Egyptian style. Although the aficionado will explain that there are many differences between the two styles, the practical layman would quickly note the obvious difference: the connection point between the pipe and the hookah bowl. The Egyptian style hookah pipe tapers upward into what is generally referred to as a male connection. The Egyptian style hookah bowl includes a female connection which receives the pipe's male connection. In the Lebanese style hookah the bowl has the tapered male connection and the pipe has the female connection to accept the Lebanese style hookah bowl. In both styles, to allow a more airtight connection a collar is generally added to fit around the male connection.

The use to which hookahs are put tarnishes them in a way not faced by other tobacco implements. Massell is wildly different from other forms of tobacco. Massell is wet, sticky, and vibrant; and when smoked, the constituents of massell litter the bowl, stem, and base. Bowls are almost an afterthough; their costs are insubstantial in relation to the other hookah components, and subsequent to smoking the exterior of the bowls could require cleaning with damp cloth (or chemical-based cleaner). The stems of hookahs should be cleaned subsequent to use, but because stems are often elongate components with minimal interior space, stems are infrequently cleaned—and often cleaned inadequately. Because stems are often made of metal, prolonged contact with the chemicals of massell, including those having underwent ignition-based chemical reactions, can accelerate the deterioration of the stems. Hookah bases often are manufactured of delicate materials with intricate surface designs. The application of chemicals having the strength to clean massell constituents can harm the hookah bases and relegate more expensive hookahs to the shelf or restrict them to use with a narrow range of massell products.

What is needed is a tobacco bowl that can be used to halt the flow of massell constituents beyond the tobacco bowl. A tobacco bowl that protects the other hookah components would expand the range of use of hookahs with tobacco products, extend the life of hookahs, and minimize the necessity of (and severity of chemicals needed to) cleaning hookahs.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directed to a hookah bowl. The hookah bowl includes a tobacco platform and a bowl shell. The bowl tobacco platform includes a substantially radial platform aperture network flanking a central solid portion. The aperture network includes one or more holes in the platform that allows tobacco smoke to seep further into the hookah bowl and on to the hookah stem. The hookah bowl shell is positioned below the bowl platform and houses a reservoir placed below the aperture network such that drippings from the platform fall into the reservoir. The reservoir includes a floor laterally-enclosed within the shell and a central spire, extending from the floor toward the platform and positioned centrally within a projection of the aperture network. The projection includes a projection sidewall formed around a dry smoke aperture that leads to the hookah. A hookah stem contact port lies beneath the spire.

The hookah may include a spire that is bifurcated into separable parts. The spire can include peripheral inlets rather than an open top that accepts dry smoke.

These aspects of the invention are not meant to be exclusive. Furthermore, some features may apply to certain versions of the invention, but not others. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art when read in conjunction with the following description, and accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an upper perspective view of the bowl of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a lower perspective view of the bowl of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side, revealed view of the bowl of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an upper, separated perspective view of the bowl of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a lower, separated perspective view of the bowl of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an upper, cutaway perspective view of the bowl of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a view of

FIG. 7 is an upper, cutaway, exploded perspective view of the bowl of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an upper perspective view of the platform of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a top, plan view of the platform of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a lower, plan view of the platform of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an upper perspective view of the shell of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a top, plan view of the platform of the shell of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a lower, plan view of the platform of the shell of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a side, exploded view of the bowl of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a revealed, exploded view of the bowl of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a partially exposed view of the bowl of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a partially exposed view of the bowl of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a upper, exploded view of the bowl of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring first to FIG. 1, a basic embodiment of the hookah bowl 100 is shown. The present invention is directed to a hookah bowl. The hookah bowl may be manufactured of any material suitable for the creation of hookah bowls. The preferred material for the construction of the present invention includes a metal to permit substantial re-usability of the hookah bowl and sustained constant heating of the tobacco bowl. Because metals are often disfavored in the use of tobacco, because an forgetful user may place his hand in direct contact with the tobacco bowl, bumpers 190 constructed of a pliable plastic are used in the preferred embodiment to shield human hands from direct contact with a heated bowl 100.

The preferred bowl 100 is separable into at least two portions, a platform 110 and a shell 120. The bowl 100 may constructed as unitary structure, however, when a separable bowl 100 leads to advantageous features. For example, a bowl 100 that is removable as depicted in FIGS. 1-7 permits direct access into the interior of the bowl 100 that would otherwise lack a direct route for cleaning many surface portions of the bowl. The point of separation is not a necessary feature of the present invention either, although the preferred separation is depicted in FIGS. 1-7. Even in unitary bowls, it is nonetheless worthwhile for purposes of explanation to discuss the bowl in the conceptual components of a platform 110 and a shell 120.

The platform 110 of the present invention is the portion of the hookah bowl that accepts tobacco or other substance for smoking. The platform of the present invention may include any configuration that achieves the purposes of the present invention; because a traditional hookah bowl configuration is generally acceptable, except with certain features of the present invention, the traditional hookah bowl configuration is largely utilized. The preferred platform 110 includes a fence 102, a floor 104, 106, and an aperture network 112. The fence 102 ensures that tobacco placed upon the platform stays on the platform—without being urged over the side. Hookahs are often top-heavy smoking implements and carrying hookahs frequently includes a swaying top. The platform 110 includes an aperture network 112 which is simply a network of one of more apertures. The present disclosure discusses apertures as a “network” for the simple reason that the number and size of the apertures are less important than the fact that one or more are present and configured roughly around the bowl platform. For the preferred embodiment of the present invention 4-8 holes circularly arranged at an approximate midpoint between the center of the platform and the fence works admirably; however, the hookah arts now feature multiple aperture solutions, including a one continuous aperture about a raised surface or multiple apertures arranged throughout the platform floors, etc. Any of the these configurations capable of being used with the present invention is acceptable, except as will be explained in greater detail later, the position of apertures in concert with the spire is significant in achieving the advantages of the present invention.

The floor(s) of the platform 110 are of key concern. Specifically, the platform 110 utilizes an inner floor 106 and an outer floor 104. In bowls 100 as depicted in FIGS. 1-7, the inner floor 106 and other floor 104 are readily demarcated by a raised protrusion 108 in which the preferred aperture network is arranged. In embodiments lacking a basis of demarcation the difference between the inner floor 106 and the outer floor 104 hangs on the question of aperture location. The inner floor 106 lacks apertures that (i) permit access through the platform and on to the hookah, and (ii) is positioned directly above (or substantially above) the sole means of gaseous transport from the tobacco bowl to the hookah stem. To properly understand the significance of the inner floor 106, the advantages of the present invention should be analyzed.

When smoking a hookah a user combusts coal positioned above a tobacco bowl that then heats tobacco placed within the bowl. The tobacco is usually covered so that the sole direction of travel for the tobacco smoke is down into the hookah body. Hookah tobacco is very unusual tobacco; hookah tobacco is a mixture of tobacco and various flavorings and binding agents and other specialty, proprietary materials. Furthermore, massell, unlike cigarette tobacco, comes commercially to end users via a variety of small and medium sized sources, many of which are amateurs in the field of hookah tobacco. Constituents of massell may be resistant to burning by nature or because of the poor processes of the manufacturer. So much of the massell can be lost by dripping down into the stem of the conventional hookah creating a mess that clogs, deforms, tarnishes, and/or interferes with the airflow within a hookah stem. Clogged stems can require a hookah to be disassembled during use or otherwise be unavailable for use. The adherent substances in massell, when isolated in the harsh environment of the stem, can solidify into a substance that can only be removed with harsh chemicals that further tarnish the stem. The same deleterious results can occur with greater or lesser effect in the hookah base. Hookah bases can be manufactured of opulent materials that make replacement a non-option for a conventional budget. So much of the mess of hookah smoking results from the breaking down, physical and chemical, of the massell.

The present invention combats the effects above by creating a “trap” for the descending massell. The aperture network 112 is positioned above the shell, and more specifically, above the reservoir 150 of the shell 120. The reservoir 150 is a void contained, preferably wholly, within the shell 120 and includes a floor 124 and is bounded by a shell wall 122. Because the preferred aperture network 112 circularly traverses the platform 110, the preferred void of the reservoir 150 circularly traverses the shell 120. Previous attempts to combat unwanted massell drippage utilizes a blistered aperture system that requires massell components to be positioned at a substantial altitude in order to have access to the physical apertures leading into the stem. Because gas, e.g. from ignited tobacco, has little to no trouble in negotiating heights, the raised floor of such tobacco bowls had some good results. However, massell is adherent and can be formed into a ‘blob’ that has substantial altitude because the massell can be self-supporting and formed into shapes that position much of the massell over the raised apertures. Massell is sold in volumes having a quantity that can result in shapes that tower far above, relatively speaking, the raised apertures. However, because blistered apertures have some good effect on the solution offered by the present invention, the present invention can utilize raised apertures in concert with the features of the preferred embodiment to achieve a superior result.

From the drippings that descend into the shell 120, they then fall into the reservoir 150 and preferably the floor 124. Because of the height between the apertures 112 and the floor 124 that may exist in some hookah bowls, drippage may accrue on the wall 122 or the spire 140 as the falling massell constituents achieve a horizontal vector component because of motioning of the hookah, slanted surfaces, etc. The floor 124 circumscribes a central spire 140, in some embodiments, that projects well above the floor 124 to provide the dry smoke aperture 142 that serves as the entry point for dry smoke entering the hookah stem.

The spire 140 of the present invention in the preferred embodiment results in a hollow cylindrical component raised above the shell interior floor 124. The sides of the spire 140 position the entry to the dry smoke aperture 142 in a position whereby smoke is unlikely to enter by gravity-induced motion. Here, the aperture positions and size, as well as the spire position and size (and the shape and dimensions of the dry smoke aperture) prevent massell constituents from dripping into the spire 140. The preferred size of the apertures is approximately five mm and are separated across a center line from another aperture spanning a distance of approximately 20-30 mm. This 20-30 mm is location of the inner platform floor 106 and the space between the apertures and the fence 102 (or other outer perimeter) of the bowl constitutes the platform outer floor 104. The aperture complex includes apertures that have a cross-section that is less than the cross-section of the reservoir 150, so that drippings that travel directly downward fall squarely in the reservoir. In other words, if the aperture network were projected directly downward, no part of the projection would contact any part of the shell 120 other than the reservoir floor 124. Naturally, this expresses a preferred construction and it is a matter preference as to whether drippings fall directly the reservoir floor 124 or whether it contacts the exterior of the spire 140 or the shell wall 122 before falling to the reservoir floor 124. The significant feature is that drippings do not enter the dry smoke aperture 142 because of the construction of the shell components. The shell wall 122 is preferably a vertical component that extends almost entirely to the lower portions of the platform 110.

Although drippings may be caught in the reservoir 150, and preferably retained on the reservoir floor 124, the smoke that descends into the reservoir 150 has no such restraint. The smoke from the platform 110 descends through the aperture network 112 into the reservoir 150, and then back upwards to the apex of the spire 140 for entry into the spire 140 and the dry smoke aperture 142. The higher the spire 140 rises, the lower the likelihood that tobacco constituents can access the dry smoke aperture 142. So, it is preferred that the spire rise at least 25% of the distance between the reservoir floor 124 and the platform 110. The preferred distance is a spire height of 70-95% of the distance between the reservoir floor 124 and the platform 110.

The central concern is that drippings are shielded from entering a hookah stem and a hookah base at the earliest point possible, and in a manner whereby the drippings can be removed readily and without damage to the more expensive, sensitive components of a hookah. The spire 140 is intended to be the entry point from the bowl into the stem, and therefore the spire is an ideal point for blocking sizable physical materials from entering the stem. However, the spire need not be the sole means for preventing the influx of sizable particles. As shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 1-13, the spire is accompanied by a barrier 180 descending from the platform 110. The barrier wall 182 serves as an obstruction that prevents lateral motioning of falling drippings/particles into the spire 150.

Particles do not necessarily fall vertically. Often there is a horizontal component. A spire that is centrally positioned in the shell 120, and wholly within a projection of the aperture network 112, may still receive particles, particularly lighter particles (because they are more affected by air) coupled with a spire 140 that is positioned closer to the reservoir floor 124. The likely position of a falling particle is not linear, but rather a statistical average that resembles a cone in three dimensions or a triangle in two dimensions. So a barrier 180 that descends, and is positioned within a downward projection of the aperture network 112, should be positioned exterior to an upward projection of the spire 140. In some cases, it may even be advantageous to have a barrier with a lower position that is positioned beneath an upper position of the spire 140. Essentially, the barrier 180 overlaps the spire 140 such that smoke is required to undergo a highly serpentine path to enter the dry smoke aperture 142, see in particularly FIG. 6.

The preferred barrier 180 is positioned within the aperture network 112, but outside of the spire 140. The barrier may be physically affixed to the platform and bear a shape similar to that of the spire. The preferred barrier hangs downward occupying a distance of less than 50% of the distance between the reservoir floor 124 and the platform 110.

The preferred reservoir 150 is sized and shaped to house a spire 140, a barrier 180, and flanks the spire. There are, however, reservoirs 150 that may be ideally centrally-positioned with an annular spire 150 that is positioned directly below the platform outer floor 104. The depicted embodiment is preferred because centrally positioning fluid flow components make for simpler manufacturing and cleaning. The preferred reservoir 150 is wholly sectioned off from direct exposure to the exterior environment, such that access to the reservoir must be indirect through by way of the apertures within platform and through the spire.

The reservoir leads to the spire which in turn leads to the dry smoke aperture 142. The dry smoke aperture 142 is the starting point of the dry smoke's descent into the stem. The dry smoke aperture should be aligned with the dry smoke conduit of the stem, or to whatever component the bowl is affixed. The bowl 100 is generally affixed by its port 160. The particular means of affixation is not a necessary part of the present invention, and any means of affixation capable of retaining the hookah bowl in place will suffice. For Lebanese hookahs, it is preferred that a rubber gasket affix the outside of a stem to the interior of the hookah stem port. For Egyptian hookahs, it is preferred that the outside of the stem bear an elastic grommet that affixes the exterior of the bowl to the interior of the hookah stem. In either event the base of the bowl, either the inner lower portion or outer lower portion, serves as the connection point, i.e., port, for the hookah bowl. As previously discussed, the port 160 may be internal in Lebanese hookah embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 1-13, or external as is common in Egyptian hookah as shown in FIGS. 14-18. The port 160 is at some portion beneath the apex of the spire.

Turning now to FIGS. 14-18, the present invention may be fashioned in an Egyptian embodiment and utilize a spire 140 with a peripheral inlets 146. The spire 140 can be a unitary structure, or for purposes of cleaning, can be separable. The spire 140 depicted in FIGS. 14-18 is both separable and includes peripheral inlets 146. Because dripping tobacco constituents originating from the platform 102 of the bowl 100 will in the overwhelming majority of circumstances will have a greater vertical velocity than downward velocity, entry to the dry smoke aperture 142 of the spire 140 may be advantageously positioned on the side of the spire. In the depicted embodiment, the spire 140 includes multiple inlets 146 positioned near the apex of the spire 140. Because, as previously mentioned, the statistical trajectory of falling particulates is conical, a higher placement of inlets decreases the likelihood that particulates can enter the spire. It is even more preferred that the inlets be oriented with a downward slant, as considered from the center to the sidewall of the spire, such that the portion of the inlet 146 facing the reservoir 150 is positioned beneath the portion of the inlet facing the dry smoke aperture 142. It is preferred that the inlets are positioned above the middle point of the spire 140, and to the extent that the spire includes a removable, upper spire cap 144, it is preferred that the inlets 146 are positioned on the spire cap 144.

The spire cap 144 can be removable from the spire proper such that both the upper and lower portions of the dry smoke aperture 142 can be cleaned—particularly in embodiments where the platform 110 is removable from the shell 120. In embodiments where the platform 110 can be separated from the shell 120, multiple means of fasteners may be utilized. Preferred embodiments utilize a combination of threading and pressure-fit seals 130. Downward radial actuation of the threaded platform upon the threaded shell deforms the seal 130 to form an air-tight fit that also results in an interference fit that maintains the platform upon the shell. In other embodiments, the platform and shell may be joined entirely by the seal 130.

Although the present invention has been described in considerable detail with reference to certain preferred versions thereof, other versions would be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, the spirit and scope of the appended claims should not be limited to the description of the preferred versions contained herein. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A hookah bowl comprising: a bowl tobacco platform defining a substantially radial platform aperture network flanking a central solid portion; and a bowl shell defining (i) a peripheral reservoir, positioned directly below said aperture network, defining a floor laterally-enclosed within said shell, (ii) a central spire, extending from said floor toward said platform and positioned centrally between a projection of said aperture network, defining a dry smoke aperture, and (iii) a hookah stem contact port beneath said spire.
 2. The hookah bowl of claim 1 wherein said bowl tobacco platform is removable from said bowl shell.
 3. The hookah bowl of claim 1 further comprising a barrier wall descending from said platform into said peripheral reservoir.
 4. The hookah bowl of claim 3 wherein said barrier wall descends below an apex of said spire.
 5. The hookah bowl of claim 3 wherein said barrier wall is affixed to said platform.
 6. The hookah bowl of claim 5 wherein said bowl tobacco platform is removable from said bowl shell.
 7. The hookah bowl of claim 1 wherein said spire extends at least 50% of a height of said peripheral reservoir.
 8. The hookah bowl of claim 7 wherein said spire extends at least 75% of a height of said peripheral reservoir.
 9. The hookah bowl of claim 1 wherein said radial platform aperture network is a raised radial platform aperture network.
 10. A hookah bowl comprising: a bowl tobacco platform defining a substantially radial platform aperture network flanking a central solid portion; a bowl shell defining (i) a peripheral reservoir, positioned directly below said aperture network, defining a floor laterally-enclosed within said shell, (ii) a central spire, extending from said floor toward said platform and positioned centrally between a projection of said aperture network, defining a dry smoke aperture, positioned below said central solid portion, extending below said floor, and (iii) a barrier wall descending from said platform into said peripheral reservoir and about said spire.
 11. The hookah bowl of claim 10 wherein said bowl tobacco platform is removable from said bowl shell.
 12. The hookah bowl of claim 10 wherein said barrier wall descends below an apex of said spire.
 13. The hookah bowl of claim 12 wherein said bowl tobacco platform is removable from said bowl shell.
 14. The hookah bowl of claim 10 wherein said spire extends at least 50% of a height of said peripheral reservoir.
 15. The hookah bowl of claim 14 wherein said spire extends at least 75% of a height of said peripheral reservoir.
 16. The hookah bowl of claim 10 wherein said radial platform aperture network is a raised radial platform aperture network.
 17. A hookah bowl comprising: a bowl tobacco platform defining a substantially radial platform aperture network flanking an inner portion and an outer portion; and a bowl shell defining (i) a peripheral reservoir, positioned directly below said aperture network, defining a floor laterally-enclosed within said shell, (ii) a spire, extending from said floor toward said platform and positioned within a projection of said aperture network, defining a dry smoke aperture, and said spire defining at least one peripheral inlet allowing direct fluid communication between said reservoir and said dry smoke aperture; and (iii) a hookah stem contact port beneath said spire.
 18. A hookah bowl comprising: a bowl tobacco platform defining a substantially radial platform aperture network flanking an inner portion and an outer portion; and a bowl shell defining (i) a reservoir, positioned directly below said aperture network, defining a floor laterally-enclosed within said shell, (ii) a spire, extending from said floor toward said platform and positioned outside of a projection of said aperture network, defining a dry smoke aperture; and (iii) a hookah stem contact port beneath said spire. 